


I Caught Gwen and David Singing and All I Got Was This Shitty Footage As Blackmail

by reina_inefable



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: :)))))))))), F/M, I worked so hard on it, Pre-Relationship, and I feel sleep-deprivation in this chilis tonight, and when I proofread it it seemed so silly, basically this was for gwenvid week but that was 50 years ago so, but whatever just take my trashy writing, just take this sksksksk, oh also rating for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 18:40:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12087021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reina_inefable/pseuds/reina_inefable
Summary: Gwen says she doesn't like music. David doesn't believe her.





	I Caught Gwen and David Singing and All I Got Was This Shitty Footage As Blackmail

**Author's Note:**

> hey there demons its me ya boy :^)
> 
> Lmao I worked on this way too hard, and in hindsight its really silly. This is really self-indulgent. Also, English is not my first language so if you see any mistakes, please tell me kindly!

Saturdays were the best days of the week. All the campers were free to do whatever they wanted, and all you had to do was make sure nobody got hurt.

This particular Saturday was overcast, and the weather was comfortable, not sweltering, as the days tended to be. As usual, Nerris and Harrison dueled in Nerris’s fortress. Nurf made little figurines with a small knife and some wood he’d found, and displayed them out in front of him like trophies. Space Kid pretended to be on an adventure to Mars, and Preston appeared to be presenting a monologue he’d written himself to Dolph and Ered, who listed ways to improve his performance.

Surprisingly enough, Max, Nikki, and Neil weren't off trying to find ways to cause havoc and destruction; they sat under a tree, snacking on some candies they stole from the counselors’ cabin. (Well, they weren’t stolen if David intentionally put them out in the open for them.)

With not much to do, David sat in the lawn chair next to Gwen, who had her headphones in and a book in her hand. 

David was content with merely watching the campers be happy and be enthusiastic about things they liked. He loved when Harrison showed him a new magic trick he’d learned, or when Ered got excited when she got a skateboard trick right after so much practice. He liked when Neil forced him out of his tent when he got really into a program he was coding, and when Dolph excitedly showed him a painting he’d made. Heck, he even enjoyed it when Max planned an elaborate prank and watched in glee as it manifested itself, because it was something he was passionate about.

He glanced at the girl next to him. She was expressionless as she passed a page in her book. 

Come to think of it, he didn't think he'd even seen Gwen get enthusiastic about anything.

Reaching over, David removed an earbud from her ear.

Gwen, obviously irritated, took the other one out and inhaled audibly. “Yes, David?”

“What’re you reading?” he asked, looking for a way to start a conversation.

She closed the book and angled the cover to him. _The Great Gatsby._

“Oh, I read that book in high school!” he said. He vaguely remembered reading it in 11th grade. (Or was it12th?) He’d liked it, but he couldn't really remember what it was about.

“Hm.” She turned back to her book.

Oh.

David waited a few more minutes before pestering Gwen again.

“What?” she snapped. David flinched slightly, surprised by how irked she seemed. Upon seeing his reaction, Gwen softened a little. “Sorry.”

“What are you listening to?”

She shrugged.

“No, seriously.” He reached for the phone, and Gwen snatched it away. 

“I’m— I’m listening to a podcast.”

“Oh, about what?”

“Um… News,” she said, almost unsure of herself.

David frowned. Who listens to news and reads a book at the same time? “Okay, then. What kind of music do you like?”

Gwen put her phone away. “I don't like music.”

“That’s impossible. You’re just messin’ with me,” David said, grinning.

“No, I’m not,” she responded. 

“Seriously, what do you like?’

Gwen rolled her eyes as she stood from her chair. 

“Where are you going?” 

“Nowhere.”

 

~~~

The little failed conversation happened at around 10:00 AM. At lunch, David sat next to Gwen.

They picked at their food in comfortable silence, with Gwen getting up once to settle what could have led to a food fight. (“Listen up, you little shits! Put the food down! If you guys make a mess you’re spending the rest of the goddamned day cleaning it up!”)

“Pop?” David asked as soon as she sat down again, her hair looking messy and disheveled.

“Huh?”

“The music you like. Do you like pop music?”

“What? No.”

“Rock?”

“No.”

“Country? Classic? Alternative? 80’s, 90’s?”

“David, I already told you I don’t like music.”

“Well, I don't believe you, Gwen.” David crossed his arms and tried to frown, but ended up smiling because he just couldn't take her seriously.

Gwen scowled.

 

~~~

Around 2PM, David spotted Gwen near a patch of birch trees looking for dry sticks for the campfire. He glanced around the camp— a couple of campers were roleplaying (led by Nerris the Cute, of course) and a few others (particularly Nikki) tried to figure out how Harrison did his magic. Max and Neil were taking apart (or putting together— he could tell) some object on the ground. David figured nothing could put the kids in danger, so he set off to talk to Gwen.

As he neared closer to her, David heard something… odd. He treaded carefully through the rocks and dry twigs, so as to not make a sound. The sound appeared to be something between humming and… singing?

Gwen wasn’t facing him, but it was undeniably her who was humming. David listened with a smile dancing on his lips. He couldn't recognize the song, but he knew she must’ve liked it a lot because she was even _dancing_ along. Well, not exactly dancing; more like rhythmic swaying.

Unconsciously, David inched closer and closer until— _crunch!_ — he stepped on a dried leaf. The noise, which in any other circumstance would go unnoticed, was about as loud as blowing an airhorn into a microphone.

Gwen gasped audibly, and in her shock she whipped around and whacked David in the side with a conveniently large and sturdy stick.

David’s knees buckled and he doubled over with an _oof!_

“Oh my fucking God— are you okay?” she asked, dropping the stick and rushing to his side.  “Jesus, I’m so sorry.”

Forcing himself to stand  upright and clutching his side, David managed to utter a strained laugh. His shoulders shook lightly with every pained giggle.

“What- what's so funny?” Gwen said, eyeing him suspiciously.

“You were singing,” he teased.

David could have sworn Gwen’s cheeks tinged just a tiny bit pink. “I was not.”

“Yes you were. You were dancing, too.”

“No, I wasn't, David,” she scoffed defensively, pointedly avoiding eye-contact, “You’re delusional.”

David chuckled. Growling, Gwen bent over to pick up the sticks she dropped. 

“You sing really well,” David said. When Gwen looked back up, her face seemed just a shade pinker. And just then, David thought she looked adorable, with her embarrassed face and frazzled hair. 

“I could very well hit you again.” She began to walk away.

David couldn't contain his smile. “For the record,” he called out, “the song _is_ pretty catchy.”

Gwen stuck out her middle finger without looking back.

 

~~~

David looked over the sheet music once more to make sure he’d written the correct names of the notes underneath. The song had been easy to recognize, and he knew it well, but no matter how well you know something, it doesn't hurt to practice.

In all honesty, he had no clue why he was doing this. What he trying to impress her? No, of course not. Definitely not that.

He glanced at his watch. The counselors were supposed to take a 30 minute break on weekdays and a 1 hour long break on weekends. Meaning, David had about 45 minutes before he had to head back.

David picked up his guitar. He put his fingers over the correct cords and began to play the song he’d heard Gwen singing.

_“Should I Stay or Should I Go?”_

Pretty good song, if you asked him.

 

_~~~_

Saturdays and Sundays were particularly fun in the evenings.

After dinner, all the campers gathered around the campfire to make s’mores and tell stories. David had taken two rocks and sat on the floor to start the fire. An awkward minute of watching David attempt to start the fire in vain, and already the campers had begun to get bored.

“Oh, for the love of—“ Gwen grabbed David by the scarf around his neck and brusquely dragged him away from the firewood. 

She dumped a heap load of lighter fluid on the wood. In one swift motion, she struck a match and held it high for everyone to see before dropping and setting the wood ablaze.

The campers celebrated and cheered. Even Max smiled a little. Moments later, they were running to get the sticks and marshmallows and chocolates and vanilla crackers.

David observed how Gwen watched the fire peacefully. The flames seemed to lick the dark sky; they drew shadows on her face and performed elaborate dances in her eyes. She wasn't frowning or scowling, and that just made the entire experience more mesmerizing.

Until Gwen caught him staring, that is. “What are you staring at?” she asked flatly.

“Nothing,” David responded a little too quickly and a little too loudly. Gwen just brushed it off.

Back to reality.

He turned to the campers and helped them each get a s’more, in  way that everyone got at least one before other tried getting seconds. 

They had to devise a plan to get Space Kid’s helmet off. (It appeared to have been glued onto his “space suit” with hot glue.) Later on, David had to chase Harrison, who, in turn, was chasing a screaming Nerris with a flaming stick. More than once, Nikki tried to touch the fire and eventually set her hair on fire. Fortunately, damages weren’t too severe; they just had to cut off the part that had been burnt. 

(“She’ll be fine. I think.”)

For obvious reasons, Nurf had been given a dull stick, which he proceeded to sharpen with his pocket knife. (“Didn't you confiscate that earlier today?” “No, I thought you did.” “There's no way in hell I’m getting near that kid while he’s holding a weapon.”)

At one point, David noticed Max hadn't eaten anything— or said anything, for that matter. He sat at the edge of a large log and picked at his stick with his nails.

David sat next to him. “Hey, Max. Did you have any s’mores?”

“No,” Max said bluntly.

“Oh. You don't like them?”

The boy shrugged. “Never tried them.”

“What? What do you mean you've never tried them?”

“I mean, I've never tried them.”

“Well, surely your parents—“

“Imma stop you right there, David.”

David shut his mouth. Then, he took a marshmallow and burned it over the fire until it got a perfect, golden crisp.

“Here,” he said, handing the stick to Max.

Max looked up. “What the fuck is this?”

“It's a marshmallow. Try it.”

Max took the stick and stared at it in confusion. He took a tiny, tentative bite out of it.

“Well?”

The boy looked up just once, and then bit the whole thing off of the stick.

“It’s… it’s good.”

David smiled and stuck three more on the stick. “Ask Neil to help you toast them.”

He looked over at Neil, who was obsessively making sure his marshmallow was evenly toasted and browned. And for once, Max did as he was told.

Seeing relative peace in the campfire, David ran to the counselors’ cabin to grab his guitar and come back.

He struck the first cord of the song he'd practiced. Everyone turned to look at him. Gwen raised an eyebrow, before a hint of recognition flickered in her eyes. David struck a couple more cords, using the body of the guitar as a drum for the beats in between them.

Gwen groaned. “Jesus Christ, Davi—“

 _“Darling you got to let me know,”_ he sung happily. 

“David, plea—“

 _“Should I stay of should I go?”_ He stood on a log and grinned widely at her.

A few whoops erupted through the campers, and Ered shouted “I love this song!”

David kept singing, hoping Gwen would join in at some point. Some of the campers did; Ered, Nurf, Dolph, and Nikki. The others danced along, because they were 10 and 10-year-olds don't care about who's watching when they're dancing. Except maybe Max and Neil, but even they were tapping their feet along to the rhythm as they kept working with the object they had earlier.

David tried to catch Gwen’s eye the whole time to no avail. The song ended eventually, and Gwen never joined in. Instead, she sulked with her arms crossed the entire song. Even then, she tapped her finger on her arm rhythmically, and that was enough for David to be satisfied.

The rest of the night was spent with David taking song recommendations and the campers having fun with the music. By the end, everyone was tired and sleepy, but strangely reluctant to go to bed.

Gwen helped David herd the kids to their tents, but didn't bother to say anything to him on their way to the cabin.

 

~~~

David heard some footsteps and faint whispering. He was a particularly light sleeper, so it didn't take much to wake him. He put on an old tshirt and quietly followed the source of the sounds; they appeared to emanate from Gwen’s room.

Prying the door ajar, he saw three distinct figures fidgeting with an object in the middle of her room.

“Max! Neil! Nikki! What are you doing in here? Why aren't you guys sleeping?” he whisper-shouted.

The figures turned to look at David, then promptly turned to each other.

“Fuck, let’s bail!”

“The window!”

“Move it, slowpokes!”

And just as quickly as they had arrived, the trio exited through the window, knocking over a stack of books that had been close to the window.

It crashed loudly in the floor, and David whipped his head back to Gwen, only to find her snoring loudly. Huh.

He was halfway out the door when he looked back at Gwen. Like earlier in the evening, she had a peaceful looked on her face, and David decided he liked much more than her frown. He snorted at seeing the trail of spit that ran down her cheek. It was oddly adorable.

David glanced at the mess on the floor, and decided he should at least clean the mess. He turned on his heel and kneeled down to pick it up. Just then, it began to rain. 

In the darkness, David could barely make out with his vision what the books were, but with his hands he discovered that the books were not, in fact, books. Rather, they were CD’s. He felt around for a flashlight until he found one and turned it on. 

Looking at the covers of every case, he could recognize several artists and albums. _The Police_ , Amy Winehouse, _The Beatles_ , _Florence + the Machine_ , Britney Spears (David giggled at this one), Lorde, Michael Bublé, Vance Joy…

There were also a few he didn't recognize: Carla Morrison, Julieta Venegas, Gin Wigmore, _Motel_ , Jesse and Joy…

He was too holed up in the CD’s to hear the creaking and bed sheets rustling.

“ _Holy shit—!_ ”

This was followed by a loud _thump!_ on the wooden floor. Startled, David dropped the CD’s he was holding; they clattered noisily on the floor.

His head snapped back to her as he inhaled shrilly. Gwen appeared to have fallen on the floor, seeing as she was sitting up on the floor, grunting, with her legs stretched out in front of her.

“Gwen, are you okay?”

“David, what the fuck? What are you doing in my room?”

She stood from the floor, massaging her head. Her hair was down, and David really couldn't think of any other time he'd seen her like that. She looked completely different.

“I'm, uh, I—“

“Are those my CD’s?”

David slowly dragged his vision down to pile of CD’s that surrounded him like a moat.

“It's not what it looks like,” he said, laughing nervously.

“Really, David? ‘Cause shit, if this isn't that you snuck into my room to go through my shit, then I don't know what the fuck it is.” Gwen crossed her arms and scowled.

David sighed and stood up. “I heard Max and his friends sneak in. They left through the window.” He pointed at the window with his thumb, which, sure enough, was hanging wide open. He closed it.

“That still doesn't explain why you're going through my shit,” Gwen said impatiently. David bit his lip and stayed silent.

Gwen scoffed. “Seriously? You annoy me all day ‘cause I wouldn't tell you what music I liked. Is that what this is ab—“

“Why’d you pretend not to like music?”

“Excuse me?”

“You pretended not to like music, and I really don't understand why. I mean, you have really good tastes.”

Gwen softened almost imperceptibly, but David noticed the way her arms loosened an the way her face contorted from anger into confusion.

“Really?” she asked, disbelieving.

David grinned. “Yeah! I mean, I've never heard of some of these artists, but going by your other CD’s I'm sure they're good.”

Gwen opened and closed her mouth, as if she was going to say something but decided not to. The bed creaked as she sat on it. Her hair hide most of her face, but for a split second, David was sure he’d seen a smile tug at her lips.

“Thanks.”

“Why did you pretend to not like music? And, excuse me for not believing you then, but I've never met someone who doesn't like music."

Gwen leaned back so that her back touched the wall. She sighed and closed her eyes.

“I don't know,” she said, “I got used to hiding my tastes from other people.”

David sat down next to her, giving her space, of course.

“In school, kids were cruel, y’know? I had a _really_ hard time making friends. None of them liked to read, and the one thing I could really talk about with just about anyone was music. But whenever I tried to start a conversation and I told them what I liked, they just made fun of me for liking music in Spanish. And when I tried to join the school choir, they rejected me ‘cause of the thick accent I used to have. My family didn't help much. They made fun of me for liking American music, and my brothers constantly teased me for not being picked for the choir. So I just kinda… pretended not to like it. And even when I did, people kept bothering me for… other reasons. For being a nerd, mostly.” Gwen curled her knees to her chest. “I know it's stupid, but… it's something that really sticks with you.”

David wasn't sure what to do, so he patted her back comfortingly.

“When I was in school, the other kids bullied because I wasn't exactly the manliest guy there,” he said eventually. “I was a really late bloomer. I was the shortest guy in my class until I suddenly got a growth spurt after we graduated, and my voice didn't start to change until I was like 17, and even then it didn't change all that much.”

Gwen snorted. “Seriously?”

“Yup. A lot of the time, I pretended to speak really low, and tried to get really buff, but it didn't really work out. I think I even tried to grow a beard by shaving my baby face. I’ll admit, not exactly my brightest idea; I ended up with a lot of cuts that lasted at least a week. So I tried ignoring all the insults by being positive all the time. People think I’m oblivious to bad things. I’m not; I just hide it really well and don't let it get to me. At least, not in public.”

“I honestly thought you were just naturally that happy-go-lucky,” Gwen chuckled. 

They sat in silence. 

After an eternity (a few seconds), David stood from the bed and left to get a radio from his room.

When he got back, he grabbed an album at random and put it in the radio.

“What are you doing?”

“You’ll see.” David smiled and pressed play.

A song he'd never heard blasted through the room, but the swayed along to it as best as he could. It was soft and vocal and sweet.

“What song is this?” he asked. Gwen drummed her fingers on her legs, avoiding his eye.

He couldn't understand the lyrics; they were in another language, so he guessed it was Spanish.

“It's a song by Julieta Venegas. It's called _Limón y sal._ ”

“What does that mean?”

“It means lemon and salt.”

David smiled at the way Gwen’s feet moved along to the song and how she mumbled the words to it. He stepped closer to her, keeping in time with the soft beat, and took her hand in his. Gwen looked at him with an unreadable expression and he pulled her up from the bed and onto her feet.

“What are you doing?”

David kept moving along to the beat and smiling. He realized he was still holding her hand, and he spun her around once before letting go.

“I don't dance.”

“Yeah, you do. I saw you.”

Gwen actually laughed at this. She rubbed her eyes before looking at him and pretended to do a pirouette. “Happy?”

David hummed. “Nope.” He gestured for her to keep dancing as he did so himself. When that song ended, David changed the CD and looked for something he was sure was more upbeat and danceable. (Who doesn't dance and sing along to Michael Jackson? It's impossible not to.)

The rain began to pour loudly, but he only turned up the volume more to drown it out.

Gradually, awkward swaying evolved into something that could be called dancing, but was really more like unrestricted moving. Shy humming turned into full-on singing. 

Gwen seemed to almost forget David was there, dancing along with her. She seemed happier than David had ever seen her, shouting the lyrics to the songs into a hairbrush-microphone and moving like you only do when you are alone. She jumped enthusiastically on her bed and jumped down and pretended to passionately act out the songs.

But at the same time, it seemed she was fully aware of his presence, especially in that she extended the microphone-hairbrush to David’s mouth when there was a chorus, and she took his hand more than once or twice to twirl him around. (11 times, to be exact. Not that David was counting.)

The whole experience— David and Gwen dancing and singing along to _Bailando_ at 1 in the morning, in their pajamas, while it poured outside, with nothing but a cheap flashlight to illuminate the room— was incredibly surreal. David was so unused to seeing Gwen actually enjoying herself, with her hair down, and— and _smiling!_ Gosh, David wanted this moment to last forever.

Of course, all good things must come to an end sometime. This time was when a particularly boisterous thunder clap woke them up from their trance.

“Oh my— fuck!” Gwen shrieked, flinching so violently that she dropped her brush and stepped on David’s foot.

Gwen apologized and turned off the radio. For a moment, they stood in silence staring at each other.

She cleared her throat. “That was— I— um, you—“

“I should— yeah— I should go to bed.”

“Yeah, you— you go do that. I'll be… here.”

David stepped out the door slowly.

“David, wait.”

He turned back way too quickly for it to go unnoticed.

“That… was really fun. Thanks.” Gwen rubbed the back of her neck.

A grin spread across David’s face. “You're welcome,” he said, “Goodnight, Gwen.”

“Goodnight, David.”

 

~~~

David couldn't sleep.

He replayed the past few hours in his head on loop. The experience had been too fleeting, too short-lived. He thought of Gwen’s face, her being happy, being so oddly passionate about something. Her hair down, her smile, her singing, her dancing… did he say smile? Just. Gwen. 

Something bloomed in his heart that warmed his chest that made his face smile uncontrollably and his stomach do backflips that reached the clouds. Something he hadn't felt since Jasper or Bonquisha.

He hoped it had a happy ending, for once.

 

~~~

Gwen couldn't sleep.

She buried her face into her pillow and squeezed her eyes shut tight. She curled up into a ball to hide the grin plastered on her face; she couldn't think of the last time she had that much fun.

The image of David popped into her head and she tried to erase it several times, but she just couldn't. She felt a familiar tugging at her heart, which she couldn't seem to ignore no matter how hard she tried.

“Fuck,” she whispered into her pillow.

 

~~~

“Did you get it?” Nikki whispered.

“Yeah, yeah, put me down now,” Max whispered back. Nikki slowly let him off her shoulders and reached eagerly for the object in his hands.

“Careful with camera! If you get it wet I swear to God I’ll make sure you never see the light of day,” Neil hissed, snatching the camera away and holding it protectively.

“Remind me why we're doing this again?”

“I already told you, Nikki. It's perfect blackmail.” If a video of Gwen and David embarrassing themselves wasn't enough to get them to bend to his will, nothing was. “Let’s go. I’m fucking soaking wet.”

Once safely inside Max’s tent, the trio put the homemade camera in the middle of them. Neil had worked on it hard all day, with Max giving ideas and Nikki simply promising to find scraps they could use. Unsure of what to do next, they stared at it as if hoping it would do something.

“How do we see the video?” Nikki asked, rubbing her hands together.

Max held it up and examined it. “Yeah, Neil, where's the screen on this?”

Neil slapped his face. “I knew I was forgetting something!”

“DAMMIT NEIL!”

**Author's Note:**

> did I basically put in music I listen to??? yea I did
> 
> Also, I really like the head canon that Gwen is a black latina (mostly bc I am latina myself) so here it is implied ft. songs in spanish that y'all should really listen to!!!
> 
> Also personal hc that David was a really late bloomer and that nurf makes little wooden figurines
> 
> If you find yourself at fault with anything in my writing (typos, plot holes, characterization), please let me know! Constructive criticism is very much appreciated!


End file.
